[EXT. PARKING GARAGE – NIGHT]
The cold night air bites Harriet's skin as she follows Fred to a black car parked under flickering fluorescent lights.
Fred opens the passenger door without a word, motioning her inside.
Harriet hesitates — just a second — then slips in, heart hammering against her ribs.
The door slams shut beside her with a final, echoing thud.
Fred slides into the driver's seat, his jaw tense.
Neither of them speaks as the engine roars to life and they speed into the night.
Outside, the city blurs past — neon lights, strangers' faces, raindrops starting to dot the windshield.
Inside the car, the silence is thick. Oppressive.
Harriet dares a glance at him.
Fred's knuckles are white on the steering wheel. His body tense, almost vibrating with some dark emotion he's barely containing.
HARRIET (whisper) "Where are we going?"
FRED (flat) "Home."
His home.
Her stomach twists.
She turns her gaze back to the window, watching the raindrops race each other.
A million questions scream inside her, but she stays silent.
---
[INT. FRED'S PENTHOUSE – LATER]
The elevator doors slide open with a soft ding.
Fred steps out first. Harriet trails behind, hugging herself.
The penthouse is sleek, cold, expensive — all glass walls and sharp corners, overlooking the stormy skyline.
Fred throws his keys on a marble counter and heads toward a cabinet.
Harriet stands awkwardly by the door, soaked from the rain, shivering.
Without looking at her, Fred tosses a towel in her direction.
FRED (gruff) "Dry off."
Harriet catches it clumsily.
For a moment, she just holds it — stunned at how fast her life has spiraled out of control.
Finally, she dries her hair, her hands trembling.
Fred pours two glasses of something dark — whiskey, maybe — and pushes one across the counter to her.
FRED (quiet, dangerous) "Drink. You'll need it."
HARRIET (hoarse) "I don't drink."
FRED (cold smile) "Tonight, you do."
Harriet stares at the glass, the amber liquid catching the light.
Her throat is dry. Her heart even drier.
Slowly, she wraps her fingers around it — but doesn't drink.
Fred downs his in a single brutal gulp, then sets the glass down with a loud clack.
He finally looks at her — really looks — and for the first time tonight, his mask cracks.
Beneath the coldness, there's something else.
Grief. Rage. Desperation.
FRED (low) "You want to know the truth?"
Harriet swallows, nodding mutely.
Fred steps closer.
Closer still.
Until she can feel the heat radiating off his body.
FRED (voice like thunder) "Your parents... weren't who you thought they were."
Harriet stiffens.
HARRIET (barely a whisper) "You're lying."
Fred's eyes burn into hers — so dark, so deadly serious.
FRED "They weren't innocent. They were involved with my enemies. They knew secrets. They played with fire — and they paid the price."
Harriet's knees threaten to give out.
She grabs the counter behind her for support.
HARRIET (broken) "No... that's not true. My mother... my father..."
Fred steps even closer — crowding her against the marble.
FRED (soft, almost cruel) "Your father betrayed powerful people. Your mother tried to run. They both died because of it."
Tears well in Harriet's eyes. She shakes her head frantically.
HARRIET (choking) "You're lying. You're trying to scare me."
Fred's hand lifts — slowly — and brushes a tear from her cheek with his thumb.
The touch is almost tender.
FRED (whisper) "I wish I was."
Harriet's body trembles.
For a heartbeat — just one — she sees the boy Fred might have been once.
Before the blood.
Before the betrayal.
Before the darkness swallowed him whole.
Without thinking, Harriet whispers:
HARRIET "Why are you telling me this?"
Fred leans in, his forehead almost touching hers.
FRED (raw) "Because you're part of it, Harriet. Whether you want to be or not."
His breath ghosts across her lips.
She shudders — not from fear — but from something else.
Something terrifying.
Something electric.
Their mouths are a whisper apart now.
Fred's hand slides to the back of her neck, pulling her closer — slow, deliberate, giving her a chance to pull away.
Harriet's heart races.
Everything inside her screams no — but her body leans into him.
Her eyes flutter closed.
And Fred finally, finally crashes his mouth against hers — a kiss full of anger, grief, longing.
A kiss that feels like the end of the world.
Their kiss is wild,hot, desperate — a clash of broken pieces trying to fit.
But Fred is the first to pull away.
Breathing hard, he presses his forehead against hers.Her thighs are tightened and trembled
FRED (hoarse) "I need you to see the truth."
Harriet blinks up at him, dazed, lips swollen from the kiss.
The kiss shatters — harsh and breathless.
Harriet stumbles back first, wiping her mouth with a trembling hand, her chest rising and falling in ragged gasps. Fred stands there, fists clenched at his sides, eyes wild — as if he's fighting a war inside himself.
The air between them crackles.
HARRIET (voice shaking)
"Why...? Why are you doing this to me?"
Fred's jaw ticks. He steps closer, his presence overwhelming.
FRED (hoarse)
"Because you're mine to protect."
Harriet shakes her head, tears filling her eyes.
HARRIET (broken whisper)
"I'm not yours... I'm not anyone's..."
Fred grabs her wrist — not rough, but firm enough that she can't escape.
FRED (quiet, dangerous)
"You are. You always were."
His words sear into her.
For a moment — unbearable silence.
Then, Fred abruptly lets her go and turns away, dragging a hand through his hair in frustration.
FRED (coldly)
"You want answers, don't you?"
Harriet stiffens.
FRED (mocking smile, bitter)
"About your parents. About why they died."
He walks to a hidden panel in the wall, presses a code.
A heavy drawer slides open — inside: a black file, thick with papers.
Fred tosses it onto the table.
FRED (flat)
"Here. Your truth."
Harriet flinches as if the folder itself might burn her.
She doesn't move.
Fred watches her — his voice lowers, like a blade cutting deep.
FRED (quiet)
"They died protecting you.
And if you don't start trusting me... you'll end up just like them."
Harriet's legs buckle. She grips the back of the couch for support.
Tears spill silently down her cheeks.
She stares at the file — the answers she's craved her whole life —
and then at Fred — the monster, the savior, the stranger she just kissed.
Her heart is a battlefield.
---
[TO BE CONTINUED…]
***